Today's notes:

Context:

Key Concepts:

What is God's righteousness observed doing?:

Moving Jesus into distinct heathen territory. Making a discernible distinction between the seed of Abraham and the heathen

Challenging the heathen woman as to His primary intents

What does this tell us about God's righteousness?:

The heathen world at large is not deserted by God, it is that HE has chosen the seed of Abraham as the vehicle of reaching out to it. HE sees this as the right approach for the ultimate salvation, so then must we.

He intends to work His salvation to all the nations through HIS covenant with Abraham, therefore the actions of HIS Son while here on earth are primarily intended for those of the tribes of Abraham's son Isaac. In that the nations will see God as a God of HIS word, a God of tremendous mercy yet truth/longsuffering yet righteousness even to the most rebellious heart or nation, a God powerful enough to not have put the rest of the world through what HE had in Israel but still have had taught all the message that HE had portrayed through them.

How is man reacting?:

kjv@Matthew:15:22-28 describes the woman as having been first ignored by Jesus yet so persistent as to wear at the disciples, they bring her to Him again for relief.

Notes:

rwp@Mark:7:24 suggests exterior pressures leading to the need for privacy brings the team this far north from Galilee up the coast. This is as far into heathen land Jesus goes and perhaps the biggest city He will visit, ample place for one to hide. Remember His intent was for a time to hide. This may explain Matthew's claim of her not being answered at first.

The concept of God choosing one people above all the rest need not be as upsetting to the others as it typically is, not when realized what it is God choose in them to go through. The history of the Jews in large measure is a picture of us Gentiles without it having to be us specifically going through this. Boiled down to it's core essence the Jews for all that God had done for them and given, despite all that they had promised themselves (and HIM) and fully intended, they failed themselves and God in every respect having attempted to perform this covenant by their power and resource; and so to all of man's sin nature. We think we know. We think that we have the best intentions. We think in terms of good works, winning battles/delivering justice/building temples and civic institutions/establishing fair governments and economies/striving for peace and prosperity for all, but we operate in greed/anger/covetousness/perversion/deceit/manipulation + coerrsion/etc.. and that without exception nor sustainable relief.

The oddity looking back now is that for the Jews this pact meant at some point rejecting and killing the Son of God sent to save us. How many others of us, of our people, of our nations would wish to to be held account for doing that. Of all that God spared us others from having to do literally/physically perhaps nothing is greater nor more merciful. Still we have to get past our depraved natures illustrated in that.

In one very real respect, Israel was chosen to illustrate all this. In another they were chosen to suffer the tangible signs of God's displeasure with the very same (displeasure that we did not have to suffer to the same precise measure until this message was fully conveyed through them). In another respect they were chosen to show that even with all of this God is still prepared to make all of this work out to His most loving purposes and intentions. For those of you that feel slighted that you instead of them had not been chosen, consider well what God has chosen to show us about ourselves through them and what has been shown about HIM in greatest return.

It is said that Israel has been given double measure. With double blessing comes the equal possibility of double curse just as double responsibility. Had God given all of us such equally it would no longer be double for any and for most it would have been intolerable; therefore unproductive; therefore less righteous. Had HE given it to anyone else it would not have been through faithful Abraham whom God had miraculously given son Isaac through whom HE miraculously gives us now Jesus.

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

It is more than easy to turn this all back around, to despise the Jews for the mere claim of God's chosen instead of understanding what the claim has come by God's hand to mean. It is not a claim of any moral or spiritual superiority it is a claim of God's redemptive work for all mankind in full motion. It is an intense description of mankind's present state reflected in the objective of HIS ever continual state.

Others seek and claim to have all this blessing of God without having the same opportunity for curse. With what they presume and claim then would come the tremendous responsibility for which they would be required of their own resource, thus falling into the same failings as lowly Israel. The end story would be just the same. Do you suppose that any man by his own determination and resource would be able to accomplish anything other? If the lesson is "God by God's power" why not stick to the lesson rather than revise the premise of our own condition to be any different because of another culture or location?